Farm Radio Weekly

Greetings, and welcome to Farm Radio Weekly. Thank you for taking the time to read issue #302. This edition presents three stories about Africans who have improved their fortunes by changing what they do for a living: by branching out into agriculture and livestock, and by selling planting materials.

During the dry season, the level of the Congo River falls, fish become scarce, and it is difficult for fishers to make a profit. But as water levels fall, land becomes available, and an enterprising farmer has found that quick-maturing vegetable crops sell well at the Brazzaville markets.

Families living in squatter camps near Bulawayo have been re-located to new, permanent settlements, but had to leave their livelihoods behind. Now, a new poultry enterprise has started to generate small profits for people who had never imagined themselves as farmers!

Perpetua Okao is profiting from a radio program which highlighted the nutritional benefits of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. Farmers across northern Uganda call her to order sweet potato planting vines for their fields, and her family is benefitting from the extra cash.

If you want to know more about orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, or your listeners show an interest in the crop, check out our Script of the week below, which features an interview with a Ugandan farmer who talks about her experiences growing the new crop.

So, grab a refreshing drink and kick off your shoes, and enjoy this issue of FRW!